Adored
by Vampiric Charms
Summary: Lin and Tenzin share a day together at the beach and, though Lin expects a simple picnic, Tenzin has a small surprise for her. Young Lin/Tenzin, complete.


**Just a little thing for any sweet tooth out there looking for some young Lin/Tenzin. They're in their mid to late twenties here, no spoilers for anything in the show.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 _ **Adored**_

The beaches of Ember Island were empty on this side, where the exclusive mansions were nestled away in their privacy between rocks and canyons, and Lin and Tenzin appreciated the lack of prying eyes as they walked in the surf while the waves brought the tide in. He tugged the basket with their late lunch higher on his arm and slipped his other hand into hers, smiling when she gripped it tightly in return.

"It's so pretty today," she murmured, voice just heard over the rushing wind and water. "I'm glad we didn't come during the summer, it's always so hot. This is perfect."

"It's still summer," Tenzin said with a grin, turning his head to look at her. It was difficult to look away. She was beautiful, her hair blown back from her face and her features so peaceful. The green wrap she wore at her waist fluttered about her legs as though the right tug would loosen it to be lost forever to the sea.

"But _late_ summer," she corrected, meeting his eyes with a wide smile of her own. "It's mostly fall by now, the equinox is next week. Hardly counts as summer at all."

Tenzin laughed, returning his gaze to his footfalls in time to avoid a jellyfish washed on the shore. He stepped around it deftly and resumed his pace beside Lin, their hands still clasped. "A fair point," he conceded. He looked around them and pointed to a bit of rock exposed through the fine sand. The surface was mostly flat, weathered away after years in the unending wind. "Would you like to lie our blanket out there to eat?"

"Oh, yes, that looks perfect!"

Lin helped him pull the blanket out of the basket to spread over the sandy rock before he took the wicker from her grasp again. "First, though," he said, glancing at her slyly and smirking when her eyebrows rose in confusion, "I brought something for us to do."

"You mean like a game or something?" she asked, almost starting to frown. She pushed waves of black hair from her eyes as the sharp wind shifted directions. "But I'm getting hungry, I want to eat."

"You'll enjoy this, I promise."

He rummaged around in the basket with his back turned to her, suddenly turning around again with a fiery red and orange kite in his hands, the streamers already blowing out to his side. Lin's expression instantly brightened and she brought her hands together excitedly as a truly happy smile pulled her lips upward.

"A kite! Goodness, Tenzin, we haven't flown a kite since we were here with your father as little kids!" she cried, reaching out for the delicate hand-patched paper and taking the string in her other hand. "This is great."

He covered her hands over the kite, guiding her back out onto the expansive beach. "Let's get it up in the air," he said, pulling back an arm in a gentle bending stance.

" _No_!" Lin interrupted quickly, grabbing his wrist before he could pull any currents around them. He stared at her, baffled, as she continued to pull his arm down until he lowered it again. "You can't bend it up," she explained, still smiling and starting to laugh. "That is cheating, you great Airhead. Just plain _cheating_. Let's run along the beach, let the wind do the work it's supposed to do."

Tenzin looked at her, bemused. "But...but I can just get the kite right up there. It'll be easy."

"That's not the point!" Lin replied, her eyes dancing now. "The point is to do the work ourselves, and to feel accomplished for it when we've gotten it into the air on our own. Without bending," she added pointedly. "Come on!" She grabbed at his arm and started moving backwards through the sand, the streamers from the kite trailing behind. "Tenzin, _come on_!"

It was only another moment, as he heard her laughing gleefully, before he started to run beside her, throwing the kite up into the air so its paper-thin wings caught the wind. Lin tugged the string, Tenzin taking it with her when the breeze turned strong, and the kite soared, dipped quickly toward the earth, and then caught an updraft and took off. They watched it together, a bright spot of red gleaming against the blue sky and white clouds, beaming smiles on both their faces.

Tenzin moved slightly so he could come behind her, sliding his arms around her waist and taking the string beside her hands. She fell back against him contentedly, sighing as she kept her eyes on the sky and he could only watch her.


End file.
